To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a webbrowser that supports HTML5video Returning to an Oscar-winning role may have been a gamble for star Joaquin Phoenix , but Joker : Folie à Deux was worth the risk as Todd Phillips makes the musical cool again. People seem so averse to describing Joker 2 as a musical – including Lady Gaga herself, who stars as Harley ‘Lee’ Quinn – but that’s what it is. The same as, it’s a sequel .
And a thriller. And a courtroom drama. Writer-director Phillips has fashioned a genius take on the genre – as well as melding it with others – building on the rich vein of music that ran through 2019’s Joker anyway.
We shouldn’t be surprised that Folie à Deux progressed to a full-blown musical; it doesn’t mean that Phoenix’s role or the cinematic universe created for him is any different from last time. Arthur Fleck just sings in his daydreams and delusions now, and he’s found the perfect duet partner in Gaga’s Lee . Following an absolutely incredible Looney Tunes-inspired opening, we catch up with Arthur at Arkham Asylum, two years after the events of the prior movie.
He’s imprisoned and awaiting trial, surviving in a dangerous atmosphere with guards (including Brendan Gleeson’s) provoking him for ‘a joke’. When he lays eyes on Lee during a music therapy session though, they instantly embark on a tumultuous and intense romance. Arthur, it transpires, has become somewhat of a celebrity .
